This invention relates to an improved child resistant (xe2x80x9cCRxe2x80x9d) medicant packaging.
Because medicants can have serious consequences for those not authorized to use them, medicant packaging has been designed to prevent children from gaining access to the medicant. As an example, tear-resistant blisters have been designed that house medicants. Because the blisters are tear resistant it is difficult for children to gain access to the medicant. Other child resistant packaging includes packaging which is itself tear resistant except when torn in a certain direction. A notch or other mark is used to indicate the place where the package should be torn to gain access to the medicant. This invention relates to an improved child-resistant package for housing medicants.
This invention includes a medicant package that has improved child resistance or safety features that prevent children or others who should not have access to the medicant from gaining access to the medicant. The medicant package of this invention preferably has several features that prevent accidental or unauthorized access. These features include in various embodiments one or more of the following: a tear resistant blister that houses a medicant, a hole through which the blister medicant can be accessed that is not aligned with the blister and requires moving the blister into alignment with the hole in order to remove the medicant; and a perforated tab that prevents moving the blister into alignment with the hole.
In an embodiment, the medicant package includes a first side and a second side that are connected such that there is a cavity defined between the two. There is also a first and a second hole disposed in the second side. A moveable member is disposed between the first and the second sides. The moveable member has a first and a second blister in which a first and a second medicant can be stored.
The package also has a tab having at least a portion which is perforated and attached by the perforations to the first side. The perforated tab is disposed such that when the tab is in place the tab prevents substantial movement of the moveable member. In this position the blisters are not aligned with the second side holes. Thus, access to the medicants is limited by the tear resistant blisters and the tab which prevents aligning the blisters with the holes.
In order to gain access to the medicant, the perforated tab is separated from the front side by tearing the perforations. Once separated from the front side, a path is created for the moveable member, and the movable member can be moved to place the first blister in registry with the first hole in the second portion. The user can apply a force to the blister and the medicant and punch the medicant through a barrier layer beneath the medicant and through the first hole, thereby removing the medicant from the package. This barrier provides yet another safety feature.
In another embodiment, the moveable member can have a plurality of blisters, and each blister can be aligned with a hole when the moveable member is moved. It will be appreciated that the package could have any number of blisters.
Another safety feature of this invention is orienting, sizing, and shaping the hole to the orientation, size and shape of the blister, which is preferably oriented, sized, and shaped to the medicant housed by the blister. This safety feature acts as protection in the event that the perforated tab is removed by a child, and the child moves the medicant and blister into registry with the hole. If a child does this, the child will have difficulty removing the medicant because the hole is oriented, sized, and shaped to that of the medicant. A bigger hole, although it can be used where not specifically claimed herein, would increase the likelihood that a child would gain access to the medicant.
Other features of the invention are described below. It will be appreciated that the preferred embodiment of this invention has many safety features, but the claimed invention only employs those features which are so claimed.